Just a Loner
by SylverEclipse
Summary: Nico di Angelo. One word to describe him? Lonely. Not many liked him. Not many trusted him. All he really wanted, all he really needed was someone who would look out for him. He realized this when Bianca died. What took place in his head after the events of his older sister's death?


**Silver's back! I figured I would need to update another story, 'cause one one-shot isn't really gonna do much. So I figured I'd do another one-shot. With Nico. Yup, you heard me. Why? I've never noticed any stories with this particular idea that I have in mind, so I decided to give it a shot. What is this idea? Well, read the story and you'll find out.**

**Now grab some popcorn, scream at your siblings to shut up because you want to read the story, sit back in your chair until you fall over and the popcorn spills all over and your siblings laugh at you, and just RELAX.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Percy Jackson and the Olympians or Heroes of Olympus. Otherwise Leo would get a girlfriend(poor Leo!)**

* * *

Nico di Angelo trudged through a New Orleans graveyard. His dark brown, nearly black, eyes were dull as he gazed at a small, yet ornate, gravestone. Intricate flower carvings were engraved upon it, giving it an almost peaceful aura around it. Bethany Ann Drummond, it read. Nico vaguely remembered meeting a spirit who's first name was Bethany. He liked her. She was kind and respectful towards him, even though she had never known him. It was probably because his daddy was the Lord of the Dead.

No one ever trusted him because of that. Because of his parentage. Nico pretended he didn't care. He'd visit Camp Half-Blood sometimes because it was the closest hing he had to a home, but even over there he wasn't welcomed. A new demigod would find out who his father was. They'd always wince and back away, and give some pathetic excuse to be somewhere else. Even when they had no idea where to go, they'd always try and look like they knew where they were going and leave. A senior camper would give him a glare, like he had just murdered their grandmother or something. Even Chiron didn't exactly trust him.

Truthfully? It killed him. Nico's heart would shatter every single time things like those happened, yet he said nothing. Not a word. Not to Percy. Not to Annabeth. Not to Thalia. The three demigods were his closest(more like only) friends, but even they were awkward when they were with him, as if as soon as they opened their mouth to say something he would send them to the Underworld.

It hurt his feelings so much, but what could he do? It wouldn't get any better. He didn't think it could get anymore worse. He was a loner. He always would be.

Nico wasn't always like this. Before he found out who he really was, before he found out who his father was, he was happy. Sure, he only had his sister, but he was happy. Bianca's wide smile always gave Nico hope that life would get better. Her laugh encouraged him that it was okay to not take some things seriously. He missed the way she would watch over him like a mother would watch over her own child, how she would scold him when he did or said something stupid. But of course, the Fates must've hated his guts, and decided that they should take his sister away. Twice.

Nico was already upset, when he discovered that his sister had decided to join the Hunters of Artemis. They had one rule, and one rule only: no males. That didn't just mean boyfriends. It meant fathers, cousins, friends, and most importantly, brothers. Nico was not allowed to have any contact with his sister. The only times he could interact with Bianca was when she herself decided to. Ever since then, he hated the Hunters, even Artemis herself. It wasn't fair. But there's no such thing as fair, right?

His life was completely and utterly screwed up when he found out that his sister was dead. He made Percy promise that he would protect her during their stupid quest, and Percy agreed. Percy swore to him that he would do his best, but he lied. He lied. How could he have done that to him?

Nico left Camp. It was obvious who his father was as soon as he slain those skeletons. How they had gotten into camp boundaries while he and Percy had been arguing, he didn't know. He was too enraged to think about anything else. He swore he would bring Bianca back. He had no idea how he would do it, but Nico was determined to bring her back, no matter what the cost was.

Of course, being the idiot he was, he allowed himself to be manipulated by the ghost of a Cretan king from thousands of years ago who had sworn vengeance on the inventor Daedalus, but could you really blame him? All he wanted was his sister. All he wanted to do in the first place was bring Bianca back. King Minos had seemed so trustworthy at first. The king had guided him throughout the Labyrinth, ensuring his survival. Nico would never had made it very far without him. But Nico had been betrayed before, so it wasn't exactly a new concept to him(something very sad). But it would be over. Soon, he'd be able to to see her again. Very soon...

* * *

Tears trickled down the boy's face as he trudged through the Fields of Asphodel. Multiple spirits parted on either side of him as he stumbled through the gray grass. _She left me._ The son of Hades felt anger rise within him. _That selfish little-ugh!_ Nico tripped over his own two feet as he stormed across the Fields, landing face first into the ground. **_You imbecile,_** a cruel voice hissed, **_way to make a fool of yourself, idiot._**

Nico grimaced and pulled himself to his feet, dusting his clothes off before preparing to run off again. However, as soon as he got up, he felt the back of his neck tingle, like he was being watched. He turned around, meeting the curious eyes of a girl, who looked about his age. She appeared to be shy; she looked away quickly as soon as their gazes met. Something felt familiar about her, but Nico wasn't sure what it was. She seemed to sense his stare; she looked up at him again, studying him thoroughly. Nico was fascinated by her eyes. Even as a ghost, her eyes were a strange liquid amber, like a gold bar.

They scrutinized each other for one small moment before Nico realized why she seemed so familiar. This girl, whoever she was, was a child of Hades, just like he was. She was important. Not just to him, but for the future. Should he break her out?_ It's not like anyone will notice,_ he reassured himself, _many spirits are disappearing from the Underworld already; what difference does it make if another escapes?_

Nico cautiously drew his sword. He didn't want to frighten the girl. He only wanted to introduce himself. She had to trust him in order to help her leave the Underworld.

He stepped towards her. She backed away slightly, her eyes wide with confusion and apprehension. "Don't worry," he said softly,"My name is Nico di Angelo. I-I know this might sound sudden, but I want to help you. Let me break you out of here." Silence. Nico almost waited for her to say something, but remembered that she was a ghost, and she couldn't say anything. "Listen to me. He motioned towards his sword. "This sword is made of Stygian Iron. It's incredibly deadly, to a variety of creatures, like monsters." He stopped talking, trying to give her time to take it in. He peered into her eyes, attempting to read her expression. He frowned when he caught amusement in her eyes. _No wonder,_ he snorted, _you're just a small, scrawny boy who looks like he just ran out of a battlefield showing her his so-called sword._

"Look, I know this is overwhelming and sounds a little ridiculous, but I can help you. Would you rather stay down here for the rest of eternity, unsure of what to do or where to go? Or would you rather be up in the surface world, ready to be able to live your life to the fullest?" _You should be asking yourself that, di Angelo,_ he could imagine Percy saying. He shook his head fiercely, as if that would get rid of Percy's voice.

The girl pondered that question for a minute. A dreamy look was on her face, as if she was pining for the feeling of being alive again(both literally and metaphorically). She swiveled her head towards him, excitement evident on her face. She nodded quickly, her eyes demanding one thing of him: _Get me out of here!_

Nico sheathed his sword and looked around. "Alright, just follow me." The spirit began to shake, with enthusiasm or fear, he didn't know.

**_You self-centered brat. You don't really want to help her. You don't care about whatever she's meant to become. She's just your consolation prize after losing Bianca._**

_No. I have to do this. It's not just for myself. I have to._

Nico's dark eyes scanned the landscape. He turned towards the ghost girl and gave her the smallest of smiles. "Let's go.

* * *

**Welp. Just a little thing that I came up with. I wanted to make this all about Nico because I KNOW there are a lt of Nico fangirls out there. And come on, even after about 6 books, we don't know what he's really like because Rick's never really focused on him for a huge amount of time. This story might be pointless, but I'm really proud of it:)**

**READ AND REVIEW. YOU KNOW YOU WANT TO. IF YOU DON'T, ARACHNE WILL COME AFTER YOU AND HAVE HER AND HER SPIDER MINIONS HAUNT YOU IN YOUR SLEEP.**

**MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!**


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